"Big kid problems": Theological roundtable tackles honoring parents

Financial District, NEW YORK- On Wednesday, King's students, faculty and staff members gathered for a roundtable discussion entitled “Big Kid Problems.”
The discussion focused on how students can honor their parents while being adults. Each faculty member who spoke contributed a different perspective and family background to the discussion. Housing Director, Michelle Lambdin and Professor of Journalism, Paul Glader, discussed how becoming an adult means taking responsibility for one’s actions and beliefs. This means talking like an adult to one's parents using a pathos, egos and logos method when explaining the reasoning behind one's actions. If this method is used, parents should start to treat their kids as adults.

Staff Accountant,Maria Laino, and Assistant to the Provost, Virginia Porter, spoke of how students should begin to support their parents upon graduating from high school. This does not necessarily entail financial support - one way to accomplish this is to ask parents what is going on in their lives and to pray for them.

Also, when returning home for the holidays, students should be respectful and full of humility. Parents and students tend to revert to their old roles from high school over breaks, but students should act like mature adults to avoid this mishap. In this case, acting like a mature adult means that they should act as though they are a guest who is staying in someone's home because it will help prevent students from being disrespectful and encourage them to be more considerate, such as remembering to clean up after themselves.

Assistant Professor of Business and Economics, Brian Brenberg, and Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Dru Johnson, wrapped up the discussion by analyzing what honoring parents means and how students can accomplish that. Professor Brenberg said, “Honoring your parents is a commandment because it’s hard. You’re going to battle it for the rest of your lives.”

Honoring your parents does not always mean obeying them or seeking their approval. Honoring one's parents benefits the students themselves because it forces them to recognize who they are, and they are forced to communicate with God over what they believe He is doing through their parents.

When asked what he took away from this discussion, Charlie Freeman (’16) said, “I think what I got the most out of it was that it reaffirmed the fact that it’s not just about you, but it’s also about your parents because they also have needs that you are responsible for and that only you can provide.”

“Honor means having to open your ears and listening to your parents but not necessarily having to follow through with it," Jonah Sheffield (’17) said.